


When The World Crashes Down

by kawada_s



Category: Battle Royale - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-10-18 09:29:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10614084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kawada_s/pseuds/kawada_s
Summary: After breaking up with Yoji, Yoshimi finally finds her voice and decides to use it. Noriko, surprisingly, is there to try and help Mitsuko after the fallout. Modern AU / No Program.





	

When The World Crashes Down

Out of all the students that made up Shiroiwa Junior High’s Ninth Grade Class B, Noriko Nakagawa was probably one of the least interested in gossip. She caught bits and pieces of the going-ons of her fellow classmates, usually when having lunch with her friends, who all seemed to be much more interested than she was. Fumiyo Fujiyoshi, as the nurse’s aide, always seemed to catch slivers of gossip due to her position, Satomi Noda, as the class nerd, was often seen as invisible by her fellow peers, and as a result, people often forgot she was there as they went on chatting, and Chisato Matsui always seemed to catch something as she cooked with Haruka Tanizawa in home economics that piqued the group’s interest.

Noriko would remain silent during all these exchanges, giving a nod every now and then as she scribbled in her poetry book, and only really listened when the topic of Shuya Nanahara came up. Even then, sometimes she didn’t listen properly, figuring that most of the talk about him could be chalked up to strange rumours. Rumours were another thing that Noriko didn’t really listen to, whether they were silly rumours, such as the one about Tatsumichi Oki apparently ready to drop out to start a rap career, or rather _intense_ ones about the life of Mitsuko Souma. They all had to have been made up by someone really bored, and she didn’t get why her peers listened to them so intensely. It still didn’t stop them spreading, however.

The wildest one she had heard in a while was the one that had seemed to send her class into meltdown – Yoshimi Yahagi had dumped Yoji Kuramoto, even matter-of-factly telling him to get stuffed. This didn’t seem like something that out of the ordinary, seeing as teenagers and their relationships always seemed to be changing, but it had completely thrown everyone off. Yoshimi adored Yoji. Some people would even go as far to say that she was _obsessed_ with him. It had to be fake. There would be no way Yoshimi would dump him.

There had been no confirmation yet no denial of the rumour so far in the day, so everyone was anxiously waiting to see what lunch would bring. Noriko, as per usual, was reading through some poems she’d written recently as she ate, listening to the faint buzz of conversation in the background. This continued for several minutes, until suddenly, all noise ceased, the change so sudden Noriko almost dropped her lunch container. While she didn’t want to give in, she did end up turning around, a part of her wanting to see what had happened.

Yoshimi had arrived for lunch, gripping her lunch tightly in her hand, looking as if she was about to start sobbing then and there. While the girl was definitely not one of the nicest in the class, or even in the grade, Noriko still felt for her – she didn’t deserve to be gawked at. The whole class seemed to be looking at where she was going to sit – was she going to sit at Yoji’s table, or with Mitsuko and Hirono Shimizu? When she moved towards Mitsuko and Hirono’s table, everyone went back to what they were doing, the noise starting up again, Noriko feeling somewhat disgusted with herself for watching it play out as everyone else had.

“I guess it’s true then,” Chisato said, the first to restart the conversation at their table. “While she looks really upset, I think it’s for the best. Yahagi can do a lot better than Kuramoto.”

“Why exactly do we care?” Satomi frowned, looking up from her algebra textbook, the only one at their table to not have stared at Yoshimi entering the room. “It’s not like Yahagi has ever been nice to us, and no one _forced_ her to go out with Kuramoto.”

“Now, let’s not fight about this,” Yukie Utsumi said, voice slightly strained. She was always trying to act as the peacekeeper of the group. Noriko occasionally stepped into the role when Yukie was having trouble or was part of the disagreement, but most of the time, Yukie was capable of handling the situation on her own.

“Yeah, guys, let’s not fight when we can discuss what is possibly gonna come next. I was working with Izumi in home ec today when we heard something rather… interesting,” Yuka Nakagawa stated to the group, immediately getting their attention. All the girls save for Noriko, Satomi and Izumi Kanai herself seemed to move their chairs closer to her for a better listen. “Apparently, Yahagi is getting sick of the way Souma is treating her, and is gonna tell her where to go sometime today.”

“S-so, t-there’s going to be a fight?” Yuko Sakaki tensed up, looking down at the table. Immediately, Satomi put a hand on her shoulder gently, shooting a glare over at Yuka.

“Well done, Yuka, you’re scaring Yuko,” Satomi snapped, and Noriko decided that moment would be the right time to get away while Yukie tried to smooth over the situation. She got up, quietly excusing herself, something that the group didn’t seem to notice, and went to head over to the garbage bin on the other side of the room.

Usually, the trip to the garbage bin, as stupid as it sounded, made her kind of nervous. To get to the garbage bin, she had to pass the table that Mitsuko and her gang sat at, and most of the time, a rude comment would be thrown her way by one of the three. She tried to just brush off their words, but she couldn’t help them sticking with her sometimes, repeating over and over in her mind through the day. Today would be okay, though, as Yoshimi was undoubtedly the point of discussion. As she passed, she caught fragments of their conversation, it unavoidable.

“I can’t believe it took you this long to break up with that dumbass, Yoshimi,” Mitsuko let out a laugh that echoed through the room. “Then again, you’ve always been pretty thick.”

Noriko quickly passed by, but not before noting that Yoshimi just stayed quiet, Hirono doing the same. Conversation in the room began to die again, but not as fast as it previously did. The tension in the room suffocating, Noriko hoped desperately that the bell would go soon and class resume, the day going by without any more trouble. Hopefully, Mitsuko and Yoshimi would solve their problems outside of school.

Just before Noriko sat back down, the room almost completely silent again, Yoshimi finally responded.

“You’re a bitch.”

As heads began to turn to stare over at the scene unfolding at the Souma gang’s table, Noriko stared down at her poetry book, trying to ignore what was going on behind her. With it all so quiet though, it was impossible to just block out what was going on, so the best she could do was just refuse to look, hoping that it would be over soon. It appeared that the rumour Yuka had heard was true, as strange as it had been.

“I see what’s happening here,” Mitsuko said. The screech of her chair as she got up made Noriko almost jump, and she gripped her notebook tightly. “You’ve gotten such a confidence boost since saying goodbye to that loser that you actually think you can hurt my feelings.”

Another chair screeched, the only sound in the room in that moment. Noriko wished she was anywhere but here.

“It’s true – you are a bitch,” Yoshimi repeated, “and I’m sick of being treated like shit by you. I’ve realised I deserve better, and you – _you_ – have been nothing but awful to me for the past two years. To be perfectly honest? No one even _likes_ you, not that you give them any reason to. I don’t know what your problem is but, stay the fuck away from me. Yoji isn’t the only person who needs to be told where to go.”

“I could care less about anyone liking me, Yoshimi,” Mitsuko snapped as the girl began to walk away. To everyone’s surprise, Hirono got up next, and with an almost sinister smile on her face, began to speak as well.

“I know you don’t care about anyone liking you, but you have nothing if you’re alone,” Hirono said, folding her arms. “You’re just gonna be alone and sad, with nothing but your bottle for company. Oh dear, that was meant to be your secret, wasn’t it? That you’re a borderline alcoholic? Just like how it was supposed to be a fucking secret that Yoshimi and I made out that one time.”

Noriko slowly closed her book, the room still quiet. She’d seen those pictures of Hirono and Yoshimi, everyone had, they had been talk of the school for what had felt like forever. Everyone knew that Mitsuko had been behind it, but most people figured that it had just been a ploy to make someone jealous. Maybe it had actually meant something, or had been a one-time mistake they they wanted to forget all about, but now it was firmly burned into the memories of the majority of the ninth grade.

The stinging sound of a slap filled the room, and Noriko flinched. She placed her book on the table and saw that her entire friend group was now watching on. She turned her head just in time to see Hirono slap Mitsuko back. Friends had fights all the time, Noriko knew, but she, along with the rest of the grade, knew that the Souma gang were not ordinary friends, probably not even real friends at all. This wasn’t something that would smooth over in a couple of days like Satomi and Chisato’s usual bickering, it would maybe even be permanent.

“Mitsuko, go to hell,” Yoshimi snapped, turning around to walk back over to Hirono, the two girls throwing Mitsuko to the floor. The room still remained quiet. The sight seemed absolutely insane, like an odd dream, maybe even a nightmare. Noriko looked on for a while, watching the two girls attempt to tear their former friend to pieces, Mitsuko putting up a rather good fight, before she finally forced herself to speak.

“Yukie… you’re the class leader.. shouldn’t you go get a teacher or something?” Noriko said quietly. Yukie looked over at her as if she had just snapped out of some sort of trance, and then looked down at the table. Noriko wasn’t sure if she was guilty or worried.

“I know… but it’s Souma… she’s getting what she deserves, right? And I know that if I go and get someone and end this, they’ll probably get mad at _me_ if they figure out who it was,” Yukie explained.

Noriko nodded at her, noticing Yukie didn’t look back at the fight after that. She didn’t exactly know what to say in return about the situation. Mitsuko definitely was not in the running for person of the year, she had done some terrible things and had to be held accountable for that. Still, the sight of her on the floor, being repeatedly punched in the face, made Noriko feel a little sick. If anyone in their class deserved that treatment, it would probably have to be that creep, Kazushi Niida. Thinking of him only made her feel more ill.

The noise from the fight seemed to capture someone’s attention several minutes later, as several teachers came in, broke it up, and the bell went several seconds after. Noriko quickly got up, grabbing her bag and poetry book, looking over at the three for a minute as they were escorted down to the office. She left the room after the two of them, looking over at Hirono and Yoshimi for a moment, immediately noticing Mitsuko was now gone.

She looked the other way, leading her away from the classroom, noticing Mitsuko running, or rather, trying to run, down the hallway. Noriko had never skipped class before, especially not to help someone like Mitsuko, but she found herself running after her, not even thinking about the trouble that she would be in later.

\---

Noriko quickly lost track of Mitsuko. Even though the girl was injured, she could still move a lot faster than she could. Noriko wasn’t much of a runner. She kept running down the hallway, trying to find the likeliest place she would probably be, hoping at the same time that she wouldn’t be caught out of her class, her decision now registering. When her eyes met the girl’s bathroom sign, she figured that was the place someone was most likely to go if they wanted to be alone, so quietly, she pushed open the door and went inside.

Immediately, she saw Mitsuko there. She was standing by the sink, a water bottle in her hand, her filling it with the contents of a flask. The creak of the door caught her off guard, and as she flinched, her bottle and flask crashed to the floor, liquid pooling all over the tiles. Her face darkened as she saw Noriko there, and the girl noticed tears shining in her eyes as she looked at her accusingly.

“What the fuck did you do?!” Mitsuko yelled at her, kicking the bottle across the floor. Noriko took a deep breath, wondering if she would be able to calm her down. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Mitsuko didn’t care for her much on as normal day, let alone _now._

“So, what Shimizu said was true, then,” slipped out of Noriko’s mouth before she could stop herself. When Mitsuko collected the flask off the floor, Noriko half-expected her to fling it at her head. Instead, she placed it back in her bag after confirming that everything was completely gone inside, and shot Noriko a look that could kill.

“Nakagawa, fuck off. The last thing I want to see right now is your ugly face,” Mitsuko growled. Her expression turned to a confused one when Noriko just went over to the sink, and lightly began to wet some paper towels. “Why the fuck aren’t you leaving? Why aren’t you getting angry at me? Why – _ugh –_ you don’t have to _help me_ , you know. You don’t have to pretend you like everyone.”

“I know that when people are angry, they say a lot of things that they don’t mean,” Noriko said softly, keeping her voice calm. “But that doesn’t excuse their words. Just hold still – please.” Noriko reached up to gently dab at her battered face with the paper towel, Mitsuko flinching at the pain and taking a step back.

“Just leave me alone!” Mitsuko yelled at her. “Why do you want to do this, anyway? Did one of your friends put you up to this?”

“Of course not,” Noriko said, a little harsher than she had meant. “I just want to help you – there’s nothing else to it. I promise.”

Mitsuko looked over her, trying to ignore the blood running down her face and the pain that was more of an annoyance than anything. It wasn’t something she felt was that significant – things had been worse before, so why bother paying much attention to it? She wanted to tell Noriko that promises didn’t mean a thing to her, but it seemed too personal, like something she’d _want_ her to say. She wouldn’t slip like that.

“And… I guess I was thinking that maybe you need a… friend I guess of sorts right now,” Noriko mumbled. She took another paper towel and tried to gently dab her face again. This time, Mitsuko didn’t flinch, or push her away, and begrudgingly accepted it. It didn’t mean she was going to be nice to her though. It was just easier to let her do it, it obvious that Noriko wouldn’t give up easily.

“I don’t need _friends_ ,” Mitsuko sneered, letting out a small laugh. “What they said was right, you know. I’m a bitch. I’m a shitty person. I’ve never claimed to be a fucking saint – what’s the fun in being one anyway? I’m just surprised they didn’t tell me where to go sooner. All this time, I didn’t think they had it in them.”

Noriko stayed quiet as she tended to her wounds, having no idea what to say back. It was true, she kind of had to admit. Mitsuko had been awful to her on many occasions, as well as to her friend group as well. Still, she felt, despite how awful she’d been to them as well as her own friend group, she hadn’t deserved to be beaten up like this. Maybe sent back down to earth and told exactly what she needed to hear, but not _this._

“Sorry… sorry if I hurt you,” Noriko stammered once the silence felt as if it was suffocating her.

“This is nothing,” Mitsuko simply said, shrugging. “It’s fine. I think I’ll be okay.”

When Mitsuko stepped away, Noriko nodded, throwing the bloody paper towels in the trash. Mitsuko began to walk away, carefully stepping over the alcohol she had spilled on the floor, making it clear she was going to leave it for someone else, probably the school janitor, to clean up, it seeming like the encounter between her and Noriko already forgotten. Before she opened the door, she turned back, it seemingly just hitting her that she should probably say _something._

“Nakagawa? Don’t tell anyone about this, okay?” Mitsuko said. It was clear on her face that if Noriko did mention this to anyone, there would be some consequence for her.

“I won’t,” Noriko gave her a small, uncertain smile, watching as she went to leave, for good this time. “And if you ever need someone to talk to or anything… I’ll be here.”

Mitsuko didn’t turn around this time, instead just scoffing and shaking her head as she went on her way, but at least it was some sort of acknowledgement of her words. When the door shut, the sound echoing through the bathroom, Noriko let her mind wander. Maybe, just maybe, Mitsuko would take her up on her offer _one day._

After all, stranger things had happened.


End file.
